Highly Flammable

These past couple of weeks I have been praying for a friend of mine and God gave me this word of encouragement to send to her. Now I've realized that this is something I needed to hear too. Because I'm excited about it I'm writing it down here. 

He told me that she is a "Firebreather".

I sort of explored the idea a little bit but I didn't really get it. I mean... I had an idea but it felt really superficial to me. I got distracted and instead of pressing in and writing it out for her I googled "firebreather" to find out if it was a real thing and found out that it absolutely is real.

And then I dropped the whole idea for about a week and a half. During that time I kept being reminded of the "firebreather" word and the fact that I just needed to sit down and send her an email. Today, you will be pleased to know, I sat down and sent the email.

As I wrote I was still feeling a little bit bugged by the idea that maybe this word of encouragement was a bit, ummm... shallow? I admit I was kind of critiquing it when I decided to reread what I had wrote out and all of a sudden God gave new meaning to the word and applied it back to me.

Now, like I said before, I am excited about it and I want to share it.

FIREBREATHER ------> A person who lights fuel, spewed
                                            from their mouths, on fire.

The words that we speak are fuel. When we speak forth the things that God tells us to speak the Holy Spirit ignites those words and burns up the crap that the enemy throws around. We are called to speak forth words that cleanse and purify. Words that restore righteousness and ignite passion. The thing is you actually have to speak the words, you have to get them out. Swallowing fuel is never a good thing and neither is swallowing the words that God gives you to speak. You need to speak it forth, spew it out, in faith knowing that the Holy Spirit is going to ignite those words and light the whole place on fire!

That was the word.

Here's what I got out of it -for me- when I reread it.

First all the words God gives are highly flammable.

I need to be bolder in speaking to the people around me. I need to listen up and speak out when God talks to me in church, in prayer meetings, on the street - wherever and whenever he wants to chat it up with his people.

I was getting pretty good at doing that. Lately I've been pretty quiet and not because God isn't talking. I have just started deciding not to talk.

That is not okay and it needs to change.

Second was in relation to prayer and declaration. I need to do both of those things a lot more because they have power. I might not realize it but when I stand up and start making declarations, when I start praising God and listening for and speaking forth the things he asks me to pray, well...

 
I BREATHE FIRE!!!

And that firey breath wrecks havoc in the spiritual realm. It has power to ignite change, renewal and passion. It is absolutely necessary that I pray and speak forth the things that God asks me to say.

And, obviously, in order to bear fruit this requires action. I need to stop swallowing the fuel and I need to start spewing it out in faith... So, that is what I'm going to do.

UPDATE: I just want to add this on. I found a verse for this.

But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

Jeremiah 20:9

Jesus Christ: Zombie Hunter

Art by Steve Willhite, From Jesus Hates Zombies

The other day a friend posted images of three very nasty looking zombies on facebook. As a joke she suggested that another friend should purchase the posters to use in their Life Group. I thought it might actually work and I couldn't resist the challenge!
 
I'm kind of out of the loop on this new "zombie trend". If you're a zombie aficionado forgive me in advance. I might butcher this idea but I genuinely love to use metaphors as a teaching tool so I'm going to try anyways!


Before I actually started to write this blog I did a search online. I wanted to find a few images and possibly read an article or two to help me better form my idea and make it sound. What I found was not exactly what I was origninally looking for but it was interesting enough to share.


The above art work is an original graphic by Steve Willhite that was created for the graphic story Jesus Hates Zombies: Those Slack Jawed Blues by Stephen Lindsay. I copied the graphic from an interview about the story on a blog called The Zed Word and I wanted to explore a statement made by Lindsay because I think that it relates to and has even helped to shape my own idea.


In the interview Lindsay, when answering a question about why he had chosen to write Jesus as a zombie hunting hero, said that "[he] wanted to explore what [Jesus would] be like as a real working-class kinda guy. So [Lindsay] went into this with the idea that Jesus loves people so much that he's willing to sacrifice himself for us. And if [Jesus is] willing to do that, there's no way he'd let some disgusting, soulless monsters devour the entire race!"


What I found interesting about Lindsay's comment was this simple fact: Jesus actually WAS a real working-class kinda guy. In addition when he came Jesus became FULLY man. He set aside his divinity like a bird making a decision not to use its wings to fly and he chose to walk among the rest of us earthbound humans. The power that Christ drew upon to do things like turn water into wine came out of relationship with God and that's not out of human reach. In fact that is actually the way that we are called to live: unconditionally surrendered to God doing as we see him do (John 5:19). 

Lindsay believed he was tweaking the character of Jesus by representing him in that way but unbeknowst to him he was actually confirming it.  

The second part of his statement carries in it a hint of truth but it actually falls short as far as my metaphor is concerned.

You see it is absolutely true that Jesus loves people so much that he's willing to sacrifice himself for us. But I believe that the real Jesus would have a perspective on zombies that would defy the views of everyone else fighting for survival. Christ was contraversial in his view of sinners while on earth and I'm pretty sure that if he was faced with a zombie apocalypse Jesus would have a very unique view on the situation.

The Jesus that Lindsay writes about is a merciless, all out zombie killing machine. Heads literally start to roll when he steps into town. He is a man on a mission to hunt down and destroy the race of zombies terrorizing the world that he created and save a select few who have escaped the plague. I think that the actual Jesus of the Bible would be a zombie hunter as well but his motives and his tactics might be just a little bit different. You see, just like Christ was able to love us despite our sin I think that he would also be able to see through the undead exterior of a zombie race and love them anyways. I think that his goal would be to destroy the source of the plague and not necessarily the zombies themselves.

I say this because of what it says in Romans 5:6-10...

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

 

There is so much more that I want to say about this but it's going to have to be in another post on another day. Until next time I want to leave you with one more verse to consider:

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;

and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

                                                       Do you believe this?"

My zombie references:

http://www.jesushateszombies.com/Story.html
http://www.zedwordblog.com/2009/06/brain-picking-interview-with-stephen.html

Sometimes I Climb Mountains...

This past weekend I took a trip with a friend into the Cariboo Mountains to hike the Yellowhead trail up to the summit of Mt. Murray. The entire trek is hemmed in by some of the most beautiful forest and alpine scenery that the Cariboo has to offer. The funny thing is during the actual hike I spent the majority of my time watching my feet playing footsy with tree roots.

I used to be a better hiker than I was this past weekend. I was younger, in better shape and determined to push myself to conquer and even excel against the nature of the wild. In high school I took an Outdoor Recreation class and participated in several different physically demanding hikes and backpacking trips. Thing is I haven't been in high school for 6 years, my "can-do" attitude is a little rusty and, while the appeal of the hike still beckons, it's hard to see the beauty when sweat is obscuring my vision.

So I focus on my feet and for reasons unknown to me I count steps in my head.

                                           1 and 2... 2 and 3... 3 and 4 and 5...

Each uphill step hurts, pulls and strains but I keep going, keep counting and keep wondering, at times out loud: "Why on earth do I chose to do things like this?!?" It's usually only in the aftermath of the hike when I'm safely seated in the car on the way home that I reflect back and find that I feel deeply satisfied.

But isn't that just like LIFE?

We spend a lot of time focusing on small things at our feet and the burning ache in our chest as we draw in air and our eyes lose focus on the beauty of the life we've been given. The joy of the here and now escapes us because it carries the struggle and exhaustion of an upward climb.

http://indulgy.com/post/Z8t05PyFJ1/its-the-journey

 We like it when we finally "get" somewhere or when things seem rather smooth and easy but life isnt' all smooth and easy. It's not just a series of spectacular destinations. There are, in fact, a few choice mountains standing in our way.

Sometimes we get to plant our feet, speak to the mountain and watch it throw itself into the sea. Other times we have to grit our teeth, throw up a prayer for guidance and start the grueling uphill climb to the apex.

There really isn't one right way to get past a mountain. Whether that chunk of rock cannon balls into the sea or your tired feet plod a track up it's rocky forehead doesn't really change the fact that there are lessons to learn, experiences to shape you and faithful muscles to flex.

I said it before when I wrote my post about optimism versus pessimism but it's true yet again. When we choose not to be distracted by our next step and instead focus on the overall benefit and joy of the journey we're on then we get more out of it. We recognize the outstanding beauty while we are submerged in it instead of just on a few choice photographs from the trip. But of course such a lifestyle demands and requires bold and outrageous courage on our part. We can't truly be optimistic unless we first choose to be brave against all odds.

For me this is an important thing to remember. When I got home after 11 crazy and amazing months doing what most people only ever dream of doing as I travelled and served the abused, impoverished and vulnerable in 11 different nations I felt devoid of purpose. I didn't know what to do next or where to turn. I was angry and frustrated because I didn't know how to find value, purpose and meaning in my life back home.

The really funny thing is I was being given an amazing opportunity to pour into a group of vulnerable and often abused people in my community and I didn't even realize the connection for the first several months after becoming involved. One day while I was praying and complaining to God about it he hit me over the head with the realization that I have everything that I could have ever wanted in a job. Not only that but I have been given purpose and the opportunity to pour into people the way I was before. It was a sobering realization because miserable pretty much sums up the way I felt for about 4 or 5 months after I got back. In addition grumpy and ungrateful pretty much describes my attitude when the truth is I had everything I wanted all along!

                        So shall we end this with a dare?

I dare you to stop your uphill climb for just a minute, take your eyes off of your feet, catch your breath, take courage and actually LOOK for the beauty of the mountain that you're climbing.

Once you've seen it try taking another step forward but this time
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP.  

Clearer Eyes.

When I put on my first pair of glasses it was like a small miracle. Suddenly the world that I was so accustomed to seeing one way completely changed. The world became crisp, clear and strangely new.

I was 13 when I found out that for years prior to my fateful appointment I had been looking at the world with failing eyes. For years I had complained to my parents about not being able to clearly see the chalkboard but they never took me seriously. My parents assumed that my complaints were based on an absurb desire to look like all the other kids with glasses and not because I actually couldn't see. When they finally took me they were shocked to find out just how poor my vision actually was.

I can still remember that first day wearing glasses. It really was like the world had been reborn. It was like going from seeing in black and white to looking at a new world filled with vivid colours. My head kept whipping around as I soaked in every distant scene as though I had never before opened my eyes. It was intoxicating and exciting. Up until that time I consistently saw the world as unfocused and blurry. Like a beautiful Monet painting it captured the essence of the things I was seeing but it wasn't an accurate depiction of them.

This past week I took one more step towards clear and unhindered vision and made an appointment for a contact lens fitting. I was a little bit nervous about it at first because poking myself in the eye on purpose is not something that I generally do as a hobby. It turns out that it's actually a lot easier than I imagined and pain actually isn't a part of the process. I spent most of the first day very aware of the foreign body floating on the surface of my eyes and continually attempting to "fix" my glasses.

That same euphoric feeling that accompanied my very first pair of glasses has transitioned to the way I've been looking at the world around me this past week. Suddenly my world is not hindered by frames or scratched glass. I have complete and clear vision no matter how or where I look. I can wear REAL sunglasses. I can style my hair without accomodating a set of frames. I put on makeup for the first time in my life while actually being able to see what I was doing. There is so much freedom and clarity in the way that I am able to see the world while wearing contacts. I feel like a person with normal eyesight.

I've been drinking in everything that I see as though it's all new. This whole new way of viewing the world along with a few timely conversations have made me do a little bit of reflecting.

As a teenager I seriously believed that I had my life figured out. I understood that God had this great plan for me and I believed that it was my job to figure it out so that I could then make it happen. I spent a lot of time trying to do exactly that. I cracked my head against a wall of legalism and religion until I could no longer stand the pain of what I precieved to be constant failure.

I was frustrated, confused, uptight - a mess really - and despite all of my best efforts I just couldn't twist God's arm or tempt him enough to give me exactly what I wanted. Eventually I sat back long enough to realize that nothing I did worked and it really wasn't worth the pain. I got angry and had a real attitude towards God and anything to do with God. I became a heckler and a critic. I read the Bible but the words didn't give me peace like they did when I was a kid, instead they just sunk like a lead ball resting heavily on my mind and making me miserable.

Slowly I started to see that they way I had viewed God for a good part of my youth was actually really twisted. He wasn't at all like I had imagined him to be. I thought that he was conditional and fickle. I was convinced that in order for God to like me, heck, for him to even notice me I had to be working my butt off to please him. I had to be successful, spiritual, mature, and strong all on my own. I had to prove myself to him and earn his favour and his love. And I was trying awfully hard to do exactly that.

Thing is it's actually true that everyone has sinned and fallen short. We are all absolutely DOOMED without grace. Lucky for us that's exactly what God offers. Grace. Forgiveness. A New Start!!!

At that time in my life, just as I'm literally finding out as I view the world through contact lenses, I couldn't truly find a way to see clearly without three things:

1. Someone to point out that my vision has been limited.

2. My own personal realization that I haven't been seeing clearly.  

3. A little bit of help to correct my vision and give me a clearer perspective.

I don't think that this is unique to me. I'm sure that each of us has an area of our lives where we are living with limited vision or understanding. We all need to be challenged with a new way to see things in order to obtain a clearer perspective of life.

So, where is your vision limited?

                          

Banana Pancakes

More than just about anything else music relaxes me and makes me happy. 

These past two days have been difficult and jam packed in more ways than one. I can feel the stress of it behind my eyes, down my back and just in how tired I am right now...

But as I sit here, ear buds tucked in, music up loud I am finding that not even my favourite play lists are touching my exhaustion and my need for relief. David Choi is singing about "a missing piece inside of me" and I kind of feel like that mirrors my heart right now.

Except... In reality I'm not missing any pieces, I've got them all and I know it. I know who is waiting for me with open arms just ready to catch me when I finally decide to stop doing it all myself and let him in.

The other day during a moment in my car when I finally got so tired that I stopped trying to control everything and just sat back and talked to God about it he made one thing very clear to me.

I have been blessed.

I have been given great talents, strength and perseverence. I can endure a lot and just keep on going through it all. I am determined. I know how to fight and work hard. I get by on my own pretty well and when I have to I can accomplish what I set out to do on my own. That is not a bad thing, it's actually a really good thing because it means I have been called to greater things than I am able to accomplish on my own.

Ephesians 3:20-21 says this...

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Immeasurably more than all I could ever ask for or imagine... My God is strong enough, capable enough and absolutely willing, even desiring, to be my strength when I exceed the bounds of what I am capable of doing. The greater my strength the more I should be doing to exceed my strength in order to rest in his. What does that mean for me? Right off the bat I would say it means:

DREAM BIGGER!

Dream impossible dreams. Try things that I don't feel capable of doing. Jump in and get over my head. Taunt the giants and look for a few wayward mountains to cast into the sea. Take a few risks and don't sell myself or my God short.

Music... it's beautiful, it lifts my spirits and I love it when Jack Johnson's voice breaks out tempting me to make banana pancakes and stay in bed like it's the weekend but I can't stay in bed all the time or I would completely miss out on my life. Sometimes the very thing that I need is to remember who God is and who he says that I am. And, in that process, forget all of the nagging voices dragging me down or defining me in ways that influence me to dwell on my flaws and fears.

Often when I'm stressed out I just need to remember where to turn to find strength and let the words that he speaks over me sink in nice and deep. Usually that means I have to get quiet and close enough to hear him whisper words of encouragement like this one:

                   

Tired of the Daily Scoop?

When I started out I had an idea of what I wanted to blog about. Food was not one of those ideas but lately I've found myself really enjoying cooking, tasting and learning more about food. So now, in the spirit of writing about my own experiences, I'm going to invite you to join me on my culinary journey.

I've always basically known how to cook. I grew up helping my Mom make supper and in my last few years of high school I took on the entire task for myself but my familys culinary preferences were pretty much restricted to meat and potatoes. We ate well but food was not something that you played with or were really adventurous about. In fact it's only been the past couple of years that my Dad has tried and will consider a dish that contains rice as the staple ingredient a real meal.

I guess it's safe to say that I was pretty content with my familiar palate of tastes and smells for most of my childhood but there comes a time in a young woman's life when the daily scoop of mashed potatoes makes her dream for a little bit more flavour and flair. Just in time my dreams were answered by an opportunity to travel for a year and serve in 11 very different nations (1 country a month) as a missionary as part of a program called The World Race.

The Race opened my eyes to an entire world of brand new tastes, sights, smells and experiences that touched every part of my life. One of my biggest fears before I left was the food. I was terrified of having to eat dog, monkey brains, spiders, rat - you name it, I was certain it was going to be on the menu - and leading up to my trip I lost a good deal of sleep about it. It turns out that the food choices in other nations, while occassionally bizarre and at times a little dangerous, are more often than not incredibly good.

With a years worth of food adventures under my belt I came back home to Canada and started a brand new job working as a Casual Support Worker in residential and work related programs in my city. Suddenly I was working in people's homes and having the ability to cook and to teach other people to cook became an important asset for my job. Since I started in January I have had the chance to cook and try a wide variety of foods that I have never before been brave enough to try. I've had a few near misses but I've also had a lot of success along the way and I've learned a lot in process.

In the end I've discovered that I really enjoy cooking. I love playing with different spices and the challenge of healthy eating. It genuinely makes me happy to explore different tastes and attempt to make something new and exciting. So I suppose it's safe to say that from time to time I will definately be writing to share with you stories about the amazing or frightening things that I've been cooking lately in the kitchen. Like, for example, my hunt to discover the secret to creating lasagna that is both creamy and delicious which I must sign off to attempt right now.

But until we meet again check out this picture of deep fried tarantulas in Cambodia. This is not one of my photographs but I did witness this little delight. I passed over the opportunity to try a few of these little beauties while I was there in February 2011 but according to one of my team mates they taste just like a hairy chicken and a little added peanut butter makes them fabulous!



Check out my World Race blog (www.nicolepearson.theworldrace.org) to read more about the places I went, the people I met and the things that I did while I was there.   

Take Delight

 

Is your glass half empty or half full?

Many would say that your answer places you under one of two headings:

Optimist or Pessimist.

I guess I could spend this entire post telling you all of the benefits that having a good attitude can have on your life. Or I might choose to play the advocate for a more logical and realistic outlook on daily events. But honestly that's boring and I think we've heard it all before.

Instead I want to talk about courage.

When you type "optimism" and search for images on the web you see illustrations of people walking straight into stupid messes without a clue. There is this overwhelming idea that optimistic thinking is a fools notion. That only the naive, the extremely young or the potentially brain dead really believe that kind of an outlook is valid. While somewhat endearing that view is actually extremely shallow.

I think that people who consistently keep an optimistic view on life are in reality extremely courageous people. Believing for the best and choosing to have joy in difficulties and trials is more than just a superficial, stupid or childish endeavor. Over the last 6 months two of my friends have been diagnosed with cancer. Both are vibrant young moms and career women who have had to endure numerous surgeries and chemo therapy treatments since their diagnosis. For one of them this is not a new battle, this is the third time around.

The intereting thing is both of these women have been optimistic through out their illnesses. They go to every appointment, endure every treatment and cherish every good day with a heart full of hope. They take delight in the simple things and take every opportunity to simply enjoy what they're doing and who they're doing it with. The reality is their situations are very grim but it doesn't stop them from looking for the silver lining and fighting to keep positive.

Pessimistic people generally look for reasons not to take a risk and join the fight. Often they are looking for the easy way out. People of courage look at the battle, know that it's a difficult road but choose to believe that if they give it all they've got they can overcome adversity and be triumphant.  

I do not mean to be a parroting Pollyanna churning out tired cliches about the beauty in life. Instead I plan to purposefully choose to live each day courageously with joy and steadfast hope that today's outcome will be tomorrow's blessing. In Isaiah 61 we are reminded that God promises to give us beauty from the ashes and joy from our time of mourning. Our lives may not be easy or perfect but there is great wisdom in maintaining a positive and courageous outlook. As we read through scripture we find that again and again God invites us to trust him, believe that all his plans for us and his promises are good and then step out in faith. If we really believe that's true then nothing is holding us back from living courageously and optimistically expecting that though there are sorrows in the night, joy comes in the morning.